


Pretending

by HiItsMeImALoser



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:14:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23662906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiItsMeImALoser/pseuds/HiItsMeImALoser
Summary: Neji's pride may or may not have gotten in the way and this time it puts more than just himself in the limelight. Shikamaru and Neji have to conjure an entire relationship out of the friendship they already have to con Hyuga Hiashi - a man with an eye for bullshit - into believing they love each other? They're confused too, because that whole conjuring thing? Way easier than it should've been.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Rock Lee, Hyuuga Hinata/Yamanaka Ino, Hyuuga Neji/Nara Shikamaru, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 10
Kudos: 37





	1. The Pursuit of Clean Dishes and Free Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neji makes an oopsie and Shikamaru goes with it because a pursuit for clean dishes and free food is a knowledgeable one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a side note shika has curly hair in this fic because that is clearly important information, and neji is a little ooc but only when he's with shika bc you're gonna act a little more chill and blatant with your bestie than if your surrounded by acquaintances. Please leave any thoughts, concerns, ideas, critiques, and/or well-wishes in the comments below, they honestly make my day!! lots of hugs and loves to anyone that want/needs them!!

Shikamaru had just taken a seat with his new book ‘Red Rising’, preparing for a few hours to himself in the relative quiet of an empty apartment when he heard the tell-tale sound of keys at the door. He sighed and his shoulders dropped as he closed his book on his finger, turning his head to eye his roommate who wasn’t supposed to be home for a while – something about his cousins? – and was currently on the phone.

It took a couple of minutes, but eventually he put his phone – always the perfect picture of control – on the counter and collapsed on the couch next to Shikamaru with an almost unnatural sort of grace. The younger glanced over before reopening his book and asking, “Why are you home?”

The Hyuga’s cloudy eyes turned to ice seemingly in time with his decision to ignore the question asked and answer the question that remained unspoken, “That was my uncle. He was calling to confirm my attendance next week and Hanabi stole his phone mid-conversation to ask if I was bringing anybody home this time.”

His words seemed to die here.

If this were a tomb stone it would read, Here lies a conversation that lasted all of thirty seconds, its death was in thanks to one Neji Hyuga’s rarely exposed social ineptitude.

However, because this is not a tragic off shoot of some off brand ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’, it wasn’t dead for long. He picked up again with a question almost as awkward as his silence, “So, are you doing anything next week?”

‘Red Rising’ was closed – yet again – over the Nara’s index as he raised his left brow, “What exactly did you tell your cousin?”

“That I was in fact bringing somebody home next – don’t give me that look, she insulted my pride, there wasn’t anything else I could say – and that it was you because I panicked.”

“So you want me to be your fake whatever at your cousin’s engagement party because you panicked.”

“Yes.”

A pause and a half later accompanied by the faint sound of pages turning and finally, “Fine. You’ll do dishes for a month and pay for dinner tonight.”

“Fair. Yakiniku, right?”

“Yea, if you want.”

Hours later, after their food had arrived, Neji posed the question that had lingered in both of their minds, “What are the boundaries and rules for our fake whatever?”

“Well, what do you want them to be?”

“Why do you think I'm asking, genius?”

“Well, what are your normal turn-offs in a whatever? We can compile a list and friendify it,” the suggestion was a sound one and the two spent the rest of dinner trying to do so.

Eventually, they agreed on a list of five things – with the added note of amendability: pet names, PDA, the promise to not fall in love (this one was more of a joke really, neither Shikamaru or Neji believed such a thing to be possible and as such included it to be a paltry attempt at personal comfort in this particular situation), practice – to hide their little game from the ever-perceptive eyes of Hyuga Hiashi, and most importantly to our two protagonists (to us, the audience, too I suppose though for us it will remain to be a point of contention) a meagre reassurance that their friendship of now two years will remain persistent in spite of the inevitable mouth to mouth and public proclamations of love and admiration. 


	2. History in the Making

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thoughts, concerns, ideas, and/or well-wishes in the comments below please!! lots of hugs and loves to anybody who wants/needs 'em!

It was a cold day. Well, not really, but that's a thing that narrators say, right? Okay, let's try that again.

The night's gentle darkness enveloped the young men in a chilled embrace that had seeped in through the thin walls of their small two bedroom. It matched whatever the Hyuga had begun to feel take root in the back his chest and prompted the young man to ask the question poisoning both of their hearts, "When my family asks how our whatever started, what are we going to say?"

Something in the Nara’s chest paused, skipped a beat, halted altogether (whichever you feel is more poetic, I can't do all the work for you) and it took a moment of brief silence and deliberation for him to respond.

"Every good story is based on the truth, so why don't we just romanticize ours?"

The Hyuga quirked his brow and laughed, "You mean how I hated your effortless intellect and success until I hit you with my car and realized you weren’t as shitty as I thought you were?"

The acidic smoke swirling beneath his skin had begun to disappear and the Nara seemed to've calmed down as well at the mention of their beginning. "Sure, who in their right mind has ever turned their backs to an enemies-to-lovers romance? The answer is no one, in case you were unaware."

This brought a rare smile upon the elder's face as he replied, "Okay, so how do we 'romanticize' that?" 

"We don't. Not that part at least. We say, 'We met around two and a half years ago, but we didn't pay enough attention to each other to see anything beyond face value so for the entirety of first quarter we hated each other, well you hated me and I was too annoyed with you just in general to give you any more than a glance when you opened your mouth. Anyways, around death time of the quarter - ya'know the finals – I still don't know if you fell asleep at the wheel or did it on purpose honestly, but you hit me with your car and because I didn't want to have to deal with you any more than I already had to I offered to pay for the dent on your bumper if you just drove me to the hospital –'"

"I still don't understand what suicidal demon possessed you to sit in the middle of the parking lot, if I had been going any faster –"

"– hospital for the possible _head trauma_ ,” Neji glared as the Nara continued the slightly overdramatic tale of their alleged love story, “an incident I barely remember, mind you, and then you felt too bad about attacking me with your expensive ego – sorry, your porsche – to leave me alone for two weeks. Which was practically unbearable until you just _fucking_ apologized like a _normal person_ and we just started talking."

Neji decided here would be a good place to jump in apparently, because that's exactly what he did, "So, in this story, when do we have our first kiss and how do we make that fit in with the time that we got an apartment together? Because Hinata knows that I live with you, I mean she helped decorate for fucks' sake."

"…We can say we moved in as friends and then one thing led to another? I mean we spend almost all of our time together, and according to popular media that almost always ends in romance. I don't know, you remember that fight we had after I found out Temari cheated on me? Ya'know when you yelled at me for wanting to try and stay with her anyways and I told you to shut up because everything you were saying hit way too close to home? 

"Maybe in our 'love story' you said 'Make me,' and because feelings were hurt and I was sad and lonely I did with a kiss and we pretended it never happened for a solid two months until you forced us to talk about it and we've been together ever since."

A silence overtook the room for not the first time this evening, because though this was just a story they'd made up for pride and free food and though they had said their love would be a joke, coursing through their veins flowed the truth. It was a truth so unvisited and so rudimentary that in the silence lied uncertainty. Neither of the young men even considered why this sudden quiet brought an ache to their chests or that the other felt it too.

The man with lavender eyes was the one to shatter the stillness in the air. 

"Yea, that works."


	3. Practice Makes People Uncomfortable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pillow fights and the 'pin' trope too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a horrible terrible no good human being and I am sorry for my inability to keep to any kind of schedule, but I had fun writing this one and I hope you have fun reading it! Lots of loves and hugs for anyone leaving comments, kudos, or just appreciating it in general, it is my motivation

"Neij?" He didn't turn his head, or glance up, or even respond the bastard.

One of their five things for the whatever was practice after all.

"I'm going to kiss you."

His head shot up faster than we (the audience) could even cringe, "Why?"

_'That caught your attention_ _Nej_ _? Really? Not your name?'_

"Aren't we supposed to leave for your uncle's tomorrow?"

His lavender oculi grew from their usual expectant glare into an eclectic pool of shock, surprise, and a few other emotions divulging to the Nara his well-hidden but near-constant absentminded disposition. He then proceeded to make an excellent impersonation of a fish before gathering the wisps of intelligence trying to escape him and forming an ostensibly painful sentence, "I suppose that would be a good reason to kiss me."

"Unless you want to own up to your dumbassery, yea." Shikamaru took another sip of his too bitter coffee and persisted down this very obviously uncomfortable conversation (Gods, they have a lot of those don't they?), "Practicing is one of our little rules anyway, might as well just get it over with."

"How romantic. You certainly know your way into my heart, offending me and getting it over with? Following the rules? You've never been sexier."

At least Neji knew how to change the mood.

The general sarcasm and deadpan that statement carried had nothing on the paltry arrogance the Nara's words carried, "Really? That's a shame, I was hoping for a way into your pants instead."

"Truly, the epitome of attraction."

"Said no one ever."

"Since when have I been a nobody?"

"That story goes back to around the time that I started telling you the secrets I was told to tell no one. Gotta find the loop holes, ya'know?

"Really though. We should at least prepare ourselves for this shit show. We only really need the basics," Shikamaru adjusted himself, "like kissing and being able to hold hands comfortably."

"Well, then, kiss me already and stop drawing it out."

"Well, that was my goal but then you started talking about sex and romance and making it weird and now I can't just... _do_ that."

"What was I supposed to do? You were making it awkward and really which would you really pre—"

"Gods, I'm clearly not gonna initiate anything now so can you just—"

"Why won't you just—"

In a sudden explosion of frustration and impatience born from insecurities and anxiety, both men lurched forward in what seemed to be a kiss. Their foreheads colliding in a painful accident that had the pair grasping at their skulls and leaning away with a matching grimace painting their expressions.

The Nara, however, had too much trust in his dazed spacial awareness and he...well...he fell. Which at least eased Neji's pain. I think. He was smirking now, in comparison to the grimace this was a good a thing. For us. For Shikamaru, this was an act of war. Kinda.

With a smile taking over his typically nonplussed countenance and a curse, he stole a pillow off the traitorous sofa, that _he_ bought by the way, and threw it full force at the Hyuga. Now, Neji–never the one to retreat from such a blatant assault–tackled and pinned the Nara, using Shikamaru's own weapon against him. Repeatedly.

It was moments such as these that made the Nara glad his mother forced him into that studio growing up. He switched their positions with relative ease (relative only because of the laughter–things are infinitely more difficult when laughing) and tore the pillow out of Neji's grasp, throwing it precariously towards the corner–didn't matter where it was as long as Neji couldn't reach it.

"Fuckin' asshole."

"You were laughing at me!"

"I did no such thing."

The Nara spared him a glare, but the eye contact really just inspired the laughter from moments previous to return and in seconds, both men were near tears.

It didn't take long for them to turn to sparse chuckles and awkward snorts and the proximity must have hit a switch in the Nara's brain because...I mean just see for yourself.

Tilting his head to the right and closing the distance between them, he whispered, "I'm going to kiss you now."

The Hyuga, out of breath and paralyzed, by what we don't know could be shock or excitement or anxiety, really anything, murmured, "Okay."


End file.
